With a surprise move, Apple released the new Mac Mini yesterday. This is perhaps the most important update for the Mac Mini since its launch. The new features are many, and they start with the design: The Mac Mini now has an unibody case in alluminum, visibly smaller than the predecessor (only 3.6cm tall).

It features an Intel Core 2 Duo with 2.4Ghz or 2.66Gzh and 2GB of DDR3 SDRAM (1600Mhz) with the possibility of expanding up to 8 GB. The HDD features either 320 GB or 500 GB. The SuperDrive with double-layer support remains. News also for the graphic chip: an nVIDIA GeForce 320M with 256MB of shared DDR3 SDRAM with a mini DisplayPort output, with support to resolutions up to 2560 x 1600 and an HDMI output, with support to resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 (the package also offers an HDMI-DVI adapter).

The audio connections are the two usual Mini-jacks, one output, and one input, that support the iPhone headphones with microphone and remote control. The HDMI port also works as a multichannel audio output. The connections also preview a FireWire 800, four USB 2.0 and a SD card slot, as seen in the image below.

The new Mac Mini weighs only 1.37kg, but with the update, came also a price increase: the new Mac Mini now costs $699 + taxes (local costs might vary), and it’s already available at the Apple Stores online.

Intel is preparing to launch their new mobile platform processors. We’re talking about the lines that are currently called Arrandale and Calpella, and one of the features on these new processors is the integration of a graphic CPU. Apple has clearly manifested their disagreement on that choice and has already started to ask for processors that do not feature an integrated GPU.

The reason behind Apple’s decision is simple: they want to be free to install nVidia or ATI components, that currently present better performances thanks to the great compatibility obtained with OpenCL (one of the technologies that are currently featured on Snow Leopard). Currently, the problem is only seen on mobile processors, hence, all the Apple products that use it: the next Mac Mini, MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Even though it looks the same as the previous ones, the new Mac Mini has received an important update and now perform better than the older models, an increase of an average 21%.

The confirmation comes from MacWorld, and their benchmark tests leave no room for doubt: Although the processor is the same Intel Core 2 Duo 2Ghz for both models, the new Mac Mini has a 1066Mhz bus and DDR3 RAM, while the old ones had 667Mhz and DDR2, respectively. The maximum amount of supported memory has also been increased to 4GB.

The days of the Intel GMA 950 are over, and even though the new graphic card remains an onboard card, the GeForce 9400M is however noticeably better, and able to use either 128MB or 256MB of shared memory, depending on whether the system has 1GB RAM or more. And even with just 1GB, the new Mac Mini offers better performances than the previous ones when tested during gaming sessions. With 2GB installed, the number of frame rates per second is 7 times higher than the old models.

Even though it had been neglected for months during Apple’s updates, the Mac Mini has always had a good number of fans that have long enjoyed the product for its convenient price and nice performances. Some of those, even though knowing the Mac Mini didn’t offer them a “top” hardware solution, they knew that they could easily upgrade the device with a better Intel processor: up to the last model, in fact, the CPU was installed on a traditional socket, allowing an easy replacement if needed.

With the new update, unfortunately, that is no longer possible: in fact, the CPU Intel Core 2 Duo is solded firmly to the motherboard, in the same way as in the notebook line. That means now that although the new Mac Mini offers better performances, it probably lost its appeal for those who were hoping to be able to upgrade it at a later time.

The new Mac Mini was presented two days ago, and some sites have already proceeded with the usual unboxing and disassembly coverages. The guys from MacMinicolo.net were some of the first ones to do so. Aesthetically, the new Mac Mini doesn’t differ too much from the previous model (except for the back panel with different connectors), but the new package is smaller: 31% smaller according to Apple.

Some surprises can be found internally. The positioning of some components has changed: particularly, the RAM, that previously was perpendicular to the front part of the Mac Mini, and now is in parallel. There is a second Airport antenna now, making a total of three antennae (one is for the Bluetooth).

Another detail that will not make some fans happy is the fact that the CPU seems to be soldered to the motherboard, like on the notebooks. That makes it unable to be eventually changed, which was previously possible.

Here are the pictures, courtesy of Macminicolo.net. Enjoy!

Click on the thumbnail to view the full image.

Apple has finally presented their new hardware line yesterday, including the new Mac Mini. The main new features are the nVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphic card that guarantees high performances and the Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz processors.

The new Mac Mini is available in two versions, with 120GB HD and 1 GB RAm or 320 GB HD and 2GB RAM respectively, and the price is of €599 and €799 respectively. In a nutshell, these are the new Mac Mini’s specifications:

Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz, 1GB (or 2 GB) Ram
120 GB Hard Disk (or 320 GB)
Double-layer SuperDrive 8x
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Graphic chipset

The new Mac Mini also presents less energy consumptions, according to Apple’s official Mac Mini page.

After a few hours offline, the Apple Stores went back online with new desktop product offers. The iMac now have processors ranging from 2.66Ghz to 3.06Ghz, nVIDIA graphics and hard disks up to 1TB. The prices start at €1099.

The new Mac Pro have the Nehalem technology, Nvidia GeForce GT 120 and lower prices. As for the Mac Mini, it features a Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz processor, 5 USB ports, a FireWire 800 and Superdrive, with prices starting from €599.

We’ll stay tuned for more detailed information of each one of the products.

We published an article a few days ago showing an image that is causing a lot of mayhem online, since the original owner of the image claims that it is the new Mac Mini version, but there’s more than one doubt about the picture’s authenticity.

And, in order to back up his claims, the same owner has now published a small video. The story is still shady and we’re still filing it under a rumor (also because Apple is very careful when it comes to information leaking), but here’s the video. Now it’s up to you guys to decide: Rumor or not?

Mac Mini 2009 Edition - video powered by Metacafe

MacRumors has published the image above, apparently leaked from one of their forum discussion threads, that would belong to the next Mac Mini. The original leaker also posted a few of the “presumed” technical specifications:

- Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz
- 3MB L2 cache
- 2GB RAM DDR III, 1066MHz
- Super Drive SATA

The official launch predictions say that the new Mac Mini would be launched around mid March, maybe together with the new iMac. The presumed “leaked” picture is a little suspicious, would Apple really refuse to change the design of the Mac Mini after such a long time without any aesthetical changes?

And what about the wood table? Anyway, we’re reporting it as a rumor. We’ll leave it up to you readers to decide whether this is a fake or not.

The hardware platform that could be the base for the development of the new Mac Mini seems to be nvidia’s Ion, the solution that the Californian manufacturer has proposed with the implementation of Atom processors.

According to a series of rumors that go around on the net, the next Mac Mini systems will feature an Nvidia 9400M integrated chipset (the same that is already featured in all Apple’s portable systems) and an Intel Atom 330 processor, a dual core solution that works at 1,66GHz and 533Mhz for the FSB.

According to the rumors, Apple has been working on this platform for a while now: in fact, they claim that the company has received prototypes before any of the other partners from nVidia that have expressed their interest in Ion.

The use of an Atom processor for a system such as the Mac Mini could also have a future reason: with the launch of the Mac OS X 1.06 “Snow Leopard” on the marketp, Apple will have all the needed technology in order to make use of the GPU hardware acceleration thanks to Open CL. This feature allows the company to compensate the Atom processor’s performance level and would give Apple a way to build an economic yet flexible system.

Apple’s interest on the Ion platform could, however, be completely different. The new nVidia platform’s features seem to be quite adequate for a device such as Apple TV, where the low energy costs and the low noise are key elements that should be paired with the ability to handle high-definition contents. And those are tasks that Ion is more than capable of.